Yeo Choo Kok
Singapore
“Sir, does the Minister agree with me that there is a strong possibility that JTC will be confused with another JTC, ie, Jurong Town Council, if there is one in the future? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not know what municipal development may take place in Jurong.”
“Sir, I have two questions. First, will the Minister revoke the approval given to the distributor nominated by the FEER which has banned its circulation in Singapore? Second, what is the Minister's response to the FEER's self-imposed ban for the magazine in Singapore?”
“Sir, has any Singaporean businessman just mentioned suffered any loss as a result of the political rearrangement that took place not long ago in the PRC? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Deputy Speaker, I think the question is whether any Singapore businessman has suffered financial loss as a result of the political upheavals in the PRC.”
“Sir, this question is for the Minister for Communications and Information. Has the Time magazine apologized to the people and the Government of Singapore? Have they appealed against the continued restriction on its circulation? And the second question is: what is the present position or the latest development of the AWSJ affair?”
“Sir, is it possible for the Ministry to conduct an inspection of vegetables at the Wholesale Centre on a daily basis? Is he aware that the issue of excessive use of pesticide was first published by a mosquito press in Malaysia in 1983? My last question is: why did the importers at first refuse to let the vegetables be sampled?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I just want to seek one clarification from the Minister. Referring to page 1 of the handout, paragraph 2 begins with the sentence, "It is open to all parents above age 55." Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we do have a lot of single persons in Singapore. What about CPF subscribers who are not married?”
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“In order to meet its pressing needs, the University has come out with a compromise proposal to build an indoor sports stadium and a swimming pool first. However, this compromise proposal has also not been accepted by the Ministry of Education. The sum of $700,000 has been allotted, but Nanyang University cannot make use of it because of this difficulty at the moment. We must realise that the University wants a sports complex, not the $700,000. The Education Ministry has already given, free of charge and without any bargaining, a library to Nanyang University. A promise to aid is a promise to be executed to the end. So the Ministry must similarly give a sports complex too. Only thus will people believe that the Ministry is not placing importance on intellectual pursuits only at the expense of physical education. At present, we are in dire need of P.E. or sports teachers, because there is no such institution. So the Nanyang University sports complex should be able not only to contribute to our national sporting activities but also to train up the necessary P.E. teachers for the various streams of education. Mr Ho Kah Leong (Jurong)(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I fully support the Member for Delta in his amendment. In my view, as a graduate of Nanyang University, it is my wish that my alma mater will improve all the time. As a Chinese-educated person, I will always bear in mind what I have obtained from Nanyang University. Therefore, I urge the Government to give the same treatment to it as it gives to the University of Singapore. The two universities have different origins and backgrounds, but they are, after all, our national universities. The students and graduates turned out by both of them are the human resources of our country. 4.30 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 41 be reduced by 510 in respect of subhead 203. Nanyang University is a university built by the community and financially supported by the Government. If it is our hope that the development of the University will be in keeping with reality, then the Government should give massive financial support to the more urgent development plans of the University. I refer to students' hostels and the sports complex which are not receiving full support from the Government. Nanyang University has recently established honours classes, post-graduate classes and provisional classes. As a result, the student population has increased. This year the number of students from Malaysia has increased by about a hundred, and the provisional classes' enrolment has increased from 77 to 150. In keeping with the changing circumstances and its own development, Nanyang University will strive to absorb students beyond Singapore and Malaysia. In these circumstances, the development of students' hostels is most pressing. If, because of technical problems, the Ministry of Education is unable to give immediate financial aid to Nanyang University to build students' hostels, it will delay the development of the University. At the present moment, there are about 2,000 students and teaching staff at the University. Yet there is not a single sports stadium. No doubt the Government has allotted about $700,000 last year for the development of a sports complex, but because of underestimation or some error in the estimation, Nanyang University asked for $1.2 million instead, but this was not approved by the Ministry of Education.”
“Point of clarification, Sir, I know about the amendments to the rules of the Women's Sub-Committee. But I want to find out whether there are similar amendments to be made to the Management Committee.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister for Culture has explained just now that we must learn as long as we live. I agree with him. But once you are past 30 years of age, particularly in the case of women, and are sent to the youth training centre, it is quite a different story. Women who have passed the age of 30 are no longer regarded as young. Perhaps the word "young" should be deleted and the term "middle age training" should be substituted. The next point I wish to raise for clarification is this. The Minister has said a few moments ago that the rules governing the Women's Sub-Committee have been made flexible by amendments. I agree. What about the Management Committee regulations? Are there any amendments to be made or have they already been made, so that those who are not living or working in the constituencies are also allowed to become members?”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not quite agree with the Minister when he says that dubbing the Japanese film in one of our official languages is impossible. I do not understand what he means by "out of the question", because I have seen some T.V. films dubbed in one of our languages. One is "Run for your life" in Cantonese and the other is "Samurai" in the national language. Can the Minister clarify what he means by "out of the question"? Mr Jek Yeun Thong: Dubbing is out of the question simply because of the high cost. The films that we are showing, already dubbed in the language which our people understand, are not dubbed in Singapore but are dubbed either in Hong Kong or Japan. In these countries they have very sophisticated film industries, so they can afford to have very expensive dubbing studios. If we were to set up a studio merely for dubbing, the cost would be very prohibitive.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0901 be reduced by the whole sum in respect of subhead 2169. Sir, I just want to know how the amount given in the Estimates for 1971-72 is to be used for acquiring T.V. and radio programmes, and what is the proportion to be spent on each of the four language programmes. I also wish to know which are the countries from which we have been purchasing these programmes. Sir, we have been trying very hard to drive home the importance of regional co-operation and better understanding between our neighbouring countries and of not creating an introvert society. I wonder whether the Ministry of Culture has taken this as one of the guidelines in acquiring or purchasing T.V. and radio programmes so that our T.V. viewers could be well educated and informed in this direction. 4.45 p.m. I notice that there are many good, educational, informative and entertaining T.V. programmes produced in countries other than the West. We are not only interested in what others say, but we are also interested in what others perform and produce. I wonder whether the Ministry of Culture will include some of these films so that the horizon of our T.V. viewers could be constructively widened.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. The following amendments stood in the name of Mr N. Govindasamy - (3) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1040. (4) That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1054.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not think that is true, because in one of my meet-the-people sessions the people who came to see me to ask for transfers for their children were poor. They did not want their children to be transferred to schools such as the Toh Tuck School at Jurong Road, as it is too far away.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not the Minister for Education and, therefore, I do not have experts to help me. If I were the Minister for Education, I would give the criteria.”
“Also, the textbooks should be reasonable in price and should not be changed every year or allowed to increase in price freely, because that would be giving parents an additional financial burden.”
“This, of course, is of use at the present juncture, but if we classify the systems of education too early, that is, make the students specialise in certain subjects too early, it may not be of long-term benefit to them or to our country, because we may produce arts scholars without any knowledge of science or scientists without any taste for art, or craftsmen without any literary taste. We may produce some scientific "Frankensteins"! So I hope the Ministry will ponder over this in their plans at this juncture. In recent years we have been struggling for a rugged society. Therefore, physical education is a very important subject in schools. Though there are about 15 weeks in a term and every week there is one period for physical education, if there are now and then conferences on physical education, tournaments and sports meets and so on and P. E. teachers are required to attend to them, how can we give the students any time for physical education? For smaller schools, the students will have no proper P.E, lessons throughout the year. How can we train our students and bring out their good physical qualities at all? I hope the Minister can remedy this situation. As regards the compilation of textbooks, since they are used as a means of teaching, the contents and the form are important, and progressive steps of learning and other cogent considerations should also be borne in mind. They should meet the requirements of students of different ages and of different standards to achieve definite effects. The contents should be of a realistic nature, meeting the requirements of the time so as to attain the ends of education.”
“If that is the case, we are not educating our young ones but are, in fact, classifying and discriminating against them. I hope this is not the policy of the Ministry of Education. By posting these poor children to schools far away from their homes, we are, in fact, imposing psychological and financial pressure on many students and their parents. This matter of posting has become more serious and acute in the light of the Government's intention to allow the bus fares to go up from the minimum of five cents to ten cents. Sir, I would request the Minister to tell the House what steps he is planning to take to ensure that no unnecessary hardships on both the parents and the students are created by this policy of posting students to secondary schools far away from their homes in the future. Mr Ho Kah Leong(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker. Sir, the purpose of education is to bring up a person to be a useful citizen who can contribute to society and the nation. Of course, we should not disregard the requirements of our realities and bring up a lot of people who are of no use to the country or society. Old concepts have already given place to new concepts. At the moment, we are implementing bi- or tri-lateral education systems. That is to say, we have an Arts stream as well as a Science stream in the academic system of education. In the technical system of education, we have vocational and technical streams.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head 0801 be reduced by $10 in respect of subhead 1005*. (*The same amendment also stood in the names of Messrs. P. Govindaswamy, Ho Kah Leong and Tay Boon Too) Mr Speaker, Sir, the matter I am going to raise is not a new one, and I hope the Minister will not refer me to the Hansard. This matter has been raised and answered from time to time in this House, but has remained unsettled outside it. This is the problem of posting primary school leavers to secondary schools. My constituency is not one where many parents have chauffeur-driven cars to take their children to and from school. I notice that many primary school leavers in my constituency have been posted to secondary schools far away from their homes because of their poor performance in the Primary School Leaving Examination. In many cases, these children fared badly because their parents could not provide them with capable private tutors to help them. Furthermore, they have to work to help their parents make a living, or they have to work in the house, such as taking care of the younger brothers and sisters. As a result, their studies are not up to the standard of those children of the rich. As such, if we post these poor children with poor performance to secondary schools which are far away from their homes, we are in fact penalising them for being poor. It is unfair for the receiving secondary schools, which are mostly in rural areas, to take in these unfortunate students unless these schools have been designed by the Ministry of Education as substandard schools to accommodate the weak students who are in many cases victims of poverty and circumstances.”
“We should not wait for a tragedy to occur, as was reported in the press, before we dig out the old file in order to give sympathetic consideration, with a guilty conscience to an application. The Housing and Development Board should play a more active role in safeguarding the general welfare of its tenants. Many of them have complained to the Board's Area Officers about noisy and troublesome neighbours. But the complainants have been told that the Housing Board cannot do anything with these culprits because they pay their rents regularly. Even the landlord of a private house knows how to deal with troublesome tenants. If the Housing Board cannot effectively deal with noisy and troublesome tenants, it is useless for the Board to beautify the surroundings with all sorts of flowers and trees, because the tenants will not be in the mood to enjoy or appreciate all these beautiful surroundings. Mr Speaker, Sir, many young people have been seen gambling at staircases in the Housing Board flats. The Housing Board says that gambling is a police matter. Let me point out that the property belongs to the Housing Board and, as a property owner, it should play its part and help the police wipe out gambling inside its own housing estates. it is the duty of the Housing Board inspectors to ensure that Housing Board flats are legally occupied. They should also regard it as their duty to ensure that staircases and corridors are properly utilised. The Housing Board should not only try to build more flats to house the people, but also try its best to look after the welfare of its tenants. 5.55p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in spite of a decline in revenue from Customs duty on liquor and tobacco, and notwithstanding a definite drop in British military spending by the end of this year, the 1971-72 budget does not propose any new taxation or any increase in existing taxes. It is quite clear that this painless budget is the result of a series of far-sighted policies carried out in the past few years. According to the Annual Budget Statement, the Housing and Development Board is going to build more flats to house the people. I do not object to the proposal of building more flats, but what has been troubling me is the manner in which flats are allocated and maintained, and the negligence on the part of the Housing Board to look after the welfare of its tenants. I hope that those officers in charge of the Board's flats do not get the idea that the place where the poor people stay should also look poor. Many poor families are compelled to squeeze into one-room flats allocated to them more than ten years ago. Some of them have been patiently waiting for about three years for a chance to get an alternative flat. It is not that they do not like a change. Most of these families are not rich, but they have a sense of propriety in not wanting to sleep in the same room with their grown-up children. Some of these families have applied for a change on medical grounds, but even the support of a doctor's written advice attached to the application form has not been favourably considered. Perhaps it has never occurred to the Housing Board officers that the size of a family may increase in the course of time, or that the children will grow up one day.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I wonder whether the Minister can tell the House why there is such a sharp increase in the number of crimes in the Delta Constituency.”
“I feel that making use of the Labour Exchange at the Ministry of Labour for employment purposes will be more suitable, because everything will be centralised. Moreover, we will save expenses which will be incurred in setting up a new Register. Mr Speaker, Sir, all along there has been a shortage of labour. Whenever the commercial and industrial sectors want to employ persons, they have difficulty in doing so. I fear that after this Bill is passed, the commercial and industrial sectors will find it unnecessarily cumbersome to recruit workers. Should these things happen, it will be an impediment to the progress of industrialisation in our country. I hope the Minister concerned will clarify the few points that I have raised. 3.29 p.m.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill is aimed at ensuring that our ex-national servicemen will be able to get jobs. Nobody will quarrel with this. However, I have certain comments to make on the details of this Bill, and I hope the Minister will clarify the few points I am making. Firstly, this Bill does not compel all those national servicemen who have completed their national service to register. I would like to know whether those who have completed their national service but who have not registered according to clause 4 of the Bill will be at liberty to seek jobs. Will any person be able to employ those unregistered persons who nevertheless have completed their national service? Secondly, there is a Labour Exchange at the Ministry of Labour where those people who want to seek jobs can register. This also includes discharged national servicemen. Under this Bill, a register will be kept by the Director of Employment wherein the qualifications of discharged national servicemen will be recorded. According to the Bill, unless there are other arrangements, employers will have to recruit persons who are registered with the Director of Employment in the first instance. Therefore, those persons who have registered with the Ministry of Labour will not have the opportunity to get jobs. I would like to know whether this Bill, after it is passed, will affect the Labour Exchange at the Ministry of Labour. Thirdly, I would like to know whether the authorities concerned have, before drafting this Bill, considered reorganising the Labour Exchange at the Ministry of Labour in order to look after those who have completed their national service.”